Jeebus that looks awful
Thought I found a good hundy....and then!
- Thread starter Cruiserhead05
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
Impressive!!
Nope. I'm talking about Land Cruisers. You can't tell me you've never seen a rusty Cruiser
Saw one back in 2003 that was a 2001 and had lived 2 winters in Chicago. Even all the aluminum under the 100 was corroded. The salt in the rust belt is now like salt on steroids
Totally, the salt is what does it. Even though the climate is harsh and the roads are bad The rust is not bad here in Alaska- I have no problem wrenching on a 1998 that has lived outside all it's life.
We just put grit on the roads, not salt. When it's below about zero, the salt doesn't help much anyways.
Agree with Stonepa, the rust on the frame is inconsequential (is that spelled right?). How is the body and how are the mechanics? My '80 is from Massachusetts and has lived in Minneapolis, Chicago and Sioux Falls, all of which us LOTS of salt in winters. It's up at 300,000 and looks and runs good. If the price is right I would not worry about whether or not you can shine the chassis as long as it isn't horrible. Just IMHO of course.
Ned
Ned
When I saw the OP photos, I didn't see anything unusual. Looks just like mine! I've long ago learned to ignore surface rust on heavy metal parts and to make sure nothing important is rusting out. Corrosion makes it more difficult to work on (like frozen cone washers 
) and mean more overall maintenance, but I would buy an L.C. that looked rusty underneath because one that didn't would look weird to me!
) and mean more overall maintenance, but I would buy an L.C. that looked rusty underneath because one that didn't would look weird to me!I grew up in the rust capital of the universe so I'm well acquainted with rust.
That said I also spent three years while in the USAF stationed just outside Phoenix. That experience taught me the advantage of buying truly "rust free" vehicles.
Laying on your back underneath a vehicle covered with rust while trying to remove a really recalcitrant bolt isn't my idea of "fun"; especially when it isn't necessary.
For a little more money, and admittedly some hassle (depending on where you live), one can buy a vehicle with no rust. That same bolt would spin out no problem.
That said I also spent three years while in the USAF stationed just outside Phoenix. That experience taught me the advantage of buying truly "rust free" vehicles.
Laying on your back underneath a vehicle covered with rust while trying to remove a really recalcitrant bolt isn't my idea of "fun"; especially when it isn't necessary.
For a little more money, and admittedly some hassle (depending on where you live), one can buy a vehicle with no rust. That same bolt would spin out no problem.
I agree. My only issue is that the first winter here in Cleveland I drive it would put me back in rust city.
Land Cruisers seem to do better than most (outside of maybe Volvos) at withstanding rust. I have seen way too many rusty 2 year old Chevy, Dodge (especially) and Ford pickups to doubt the build quality of my 15+ year old 100.
It's partly a design issue, IMO. Trucks sold in Canada tend to come standard with a rust protective coating underneath. I would be surprised if the newer vehicles didn't have this as a standard feature.
If your vehicle will stay in Calif/Ariz/Nev/Tex you can do without it, but it's a minimal cost even if you want to do yourself.
Rust drives me crazy. I like a clean look on anything I own and I think if you're talking about parts of the vehicle that are difficult to replace, then it is worth the effort.
My rationale is, if someone wants to restore it after I've racked up a zillion miles, I'll be making their life a bit easier.
If your vehicle will stay in Calif/Ariz/Nev/Tex you can do without it, but it's a minimal cost even if you want to do yourself.
Rust drives me crazy. I like a clean look on anything I own and I think if you're talking about parts of the vehicle that are difficult to replace, then it is worth the effort.
My rationale is, if someone wants to restore it after I've racked up a zillion miles, I'll be making their life a bit easier.
Cid- I believe that most vehicles come from the factory with some kind of undercoating applied not simply those going to Canada. My Massachusetts based 80 did and I'm pretty certain that most other Cruisers do too, if not all of them
Ned
Ned
Last edited: